Martin Kenny (Sligo-Leitrim, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

We are on the same page. However, I do not understand, and what the public does not understand when it looks on, is that when An Garda Síochána or any other body needs money for something vital and applies for it, that can take years to be processed. The Minister said, of course, that all kinds of systems must be gone through and there must be due diligence. We know that. It would be useful, however, if the Minister could outline the timescale around when An Garda Síochána applies to the Department for funding for a particular project like this. How long can it expect to wait before it receives sanction and gets the funding to provide the service? Is the Minister talking about three years or three months? It would be much more appropriate if it was three months in the context of what we need to get done here because this is a serious issue. The Commissioner outlined it in his recent reports to the policing authority. It is something that has been through the courts for years now.

They are now complaining they cannot get the level of service they require in all this. Yet we find that when an application that makes common sense and that everyone agrees with goes to the Department, it is kicked from one party to the other over and back and nothing happens for years. It is no longer acceptable. It would be useful if the Minister, as a new Minister, put something in place to speed this up.

See this speech in context